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Thursday, January 14, 2016

Do you know what I love about tea?



You can make yourself a nice cup of tea, pour more boiling water over the bag or leaves, and make yourself another cup, for nothing more than the cost of the boiling water.

Or, if you've made tea for two, but a third drops in, you can stretch that tea with extra water, and let it steep just a bit longer. You can't do that with milk or soda.

20 comments:

  1. We love tea also and I make a pot of tea and because it's a bigger pot, it stretches the teabag and the whole family gets a nice sized mug.

    We also like hot chocolate and I make my own very special recipe that makes a big container full. Last night was very cold when my daughter and I came home from work and hot chocolate sounded so good. So we each had a mug will a huge dollop of whipped cream. That was my birthday treat and it was free! I volunteer at a food pantry and at the end of the night if there is anything we would like we may take. I noticed no one took the whipping cream and the expiration was past the date (Dec. 29) and I was there Jan. 7 I didn't feel bad taking a couple of containers or they might throw them away anyway. My MIL likes my hot chocolate too so my container is getting empty quite fast!

    Alice

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    Replies
    1. Hi Alice,
      What a wonderful birthday treat -- the whipping cream on your cocoa. Happy birthday!!!!

      Delete
  2. I always thought it was wasteful to make just one cup of tea per tea bag, so I usually drink tea when two or even three cups will be served. When that is not possible, I have even placed my first cup used tea bags in the refrigerator for later use. The same with coffee grounds...we don't usually buy expensive K-cups, unless I find a terrific price less than .25 each. We make two large cups of coffee from each Kcup, and when using our own cup filters, we don't fill to the top, and reuse for another cup by topping the grounds in the Kcup. We do this so automatically, it's a habit. I prefer weak coffee, so I take the second cups.

    YHF

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    1. Hi YHF,
      I don't recall if you have Dollar Tree, there. DT sells tea bags for less than the cheapest grocery store ones -- however, they are only half the weight of grocery store tea bags. But these are great for just one cup at a time, because of their lesser volume of tea leaves. Loose leaf tea is also a good choice for single cups, as you can exactly how much tea you like to your cup or small pot.

      I sometimes save the spent bags in a dish in the fridge. But more often than not, I just pour boiling water over the bag in a small pot and let it sit overnight. The next day, it has a pretty good strength to it, so I just pop it into the microwave for that day's cup.

      I am particular about coffee strength. I like it strong, very strong! That's what it takes to get me moving in the morning!

      Delete
    2. No we don't have any dollar stores in Hawaii, I think because of shipping costs, but I did pop into the Dollar Tree in Vegas and found some very good deals on cow's milk with long shelf life in box cartons (imagine that!), better tasting than fresh milk. I was also able to use coupons that I printed, Lysol wipes were $1 and I used a dollar coupon, so free. I bought 3 reading glasses at dollar each, great for working with small stitches and reading dates on coins lol For spices, I should have bought more, and only bought garlic granules (not powder) at the 99c stores.

      Letting the tea bag sit in a pot of boiling water sounds like a good idea and think I'll try that.

      I can go both ways with coffee...if strong I enjoy that but at home I like sipping on at least 2 large cups of coffee while doing my morning desk work, so weaker is better (less caffeine).

      YHF

      Delete
  3. I love tea. I found many boxes when we moved. will not need to buy tea for a few years. Such a blessing on a cold day or evening.I also use the tea bags more than once. Sometimes I ad the tea bags to a potted plant after they no longer make tea.
    Blessings,
    Patti

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    Replies
    1. Hi Patti,
      It sounds like you are very well-supplied in tea! And the tea doesn't bother your plants? I do compost all our tea leaves/bags.

      Sorry you have a migraine, today! Some of that laundry detergent is so overly fragrant. I can imagine the migraine it would trigger.

      Delete
  4. I see a typo. Sorry migraine day. My neighbors floral laundry soap is venting into my condo today. Off try and find the problem,
    Have a great day
    Patti

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  5. I'm pretty sure you've picked up on my love for tea. :) I know I've shared this before, but I boil a pot of water in the morning, fill a carafe with it, and enjoy tea most of the day. When we had a snow day earlier this week, I had to share my hot water with the kids so they could have hot chocolate after playing in the snow--that day I had to boil 2 pots, but most of the time I get away with just one. You also know my trick for re-using teabags--I put 2 used bags in one cup. I like my tea fairly strong so this way I'm re-using teabags but still getting tea the way I like it.

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    1. Hi Kris,
      Okay, I have a question for you, since you are a tea connoisseur. Do you have a preference for how tea water is boiled? I swear it tastes better when boiled in a kettle on the stove, rather than in the microwave. But I wonder if some of what I like about stove-boiled water is more the whole process of making tea being a leisurely one.

      Delete
    2. I'm not at Ecocatlady's parent's level of tea connoisseur-ship (I think I created a new word)--I do some loose-leaf tea but I don't like cleaning out the infusers so I'm more of a teabag gal. However ... I am SO with you on tea tasting better if it is boiled on the stovetop instead of in the microwave! Here's a link I found--I don't know how accurate it is, but it's interesting reading. http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/06/04/microwaving_water_for_tea_why_are_the_results_so_lousy.html

      My MIL typically heats water in a microwave for my tea--when all the kids/grandkids are there, I understand why she finds it easier to do it that way, so I just smile and drink it politely, but I do appreciate returning home to my pot of hot water.

      Delete
    3. Ahhh, so I'm not alone in this! I've wondered if it was just a mental thing, or if there was something to it! I do like the whole ritual of preparing tea, though.

      I used a really neat tea infuser, once. It was cup shaped and fit right into the tea cup. It just dumps out easily, like a reusable coffee filter. I also like using strainers.

      I need a cup of tea right now! I'll go put a pot to boil!

      Delete
  6. the first time I saw tea at the Dollar Store I scooped it up. It wasn't until later that I discovered each bag was 1/2 the regular amount of tea.
    Most of my tea consumption is in the form of iced tea. I use 7 tea bags to make a gallon of tea. I let it steep until it reaches room temperature.
    The best price I've found on tea is at ethnic stores.

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    1. Hi frugal spinster,
      Yeah, the smaller tea bags are really great, for the lower price if you would prefer your tea weaker. But not a savings if you like strong tea, and go through them faster.

      I'll check out the ethnic market the next time I'm there. Thanks for the tip!!

      Delete
  7. My parents are total tea snobs. They won't even use tea in a bag, let alone the kind one buys at the dollar store. Only loose leaf varieties with schmancy names that I can't even pronounce. This from the people who buy most of their groceries at what I lovingly refer to as "the used grocery store" - it's a salvage shop that sells stuff that's gone slightly past the sell by date, or has damaged packaging etc.

    I suppose we all have our weaknesses and contradictions, and tea seems to be theirs! Me, I'm happy with the el cheapo variety. In fact, I think I'll go make myself a nice steaming cup of green tea right now! :-)

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    1. Hi Cat,
      I'm an equal opportunity tea drinker. I'll drink the cheap tea fanning stuff (that looks like they swept it up from the manufacturing floor), or loose leaf, or herb, black, green, or homegrown herbs and blossoms made into tea. How good a cup of tea tastes, to me, is in what I add to it. If I'm wanting tea with lemon and sugar or honey, I use the cheapest stuff in the house. I do have favorites. I do like chai tea and bergamot tea. But I also enjoy a lot of others.

      Do you drink green tea, just plain, or do you add something to it? I'm wondering if there's a traditional way of taking green tea.

      Perhaps your parents have found some tea to their liking at the used grocery store?

      Delete
    2. Well, I have no idea how one is "supposed" to drink green tea, but I like it plain. I'm not a real fan of sweet beverages, and I actually like the taste of plain green tea.

      And no... I'm quite sure my tea-snob parents would never drink tea from the used grocery store. My step-mom in particular has gone totally off the deep end with tea. She's become completely convinced that anything from China is covered in pesticides even if it says it's organic. I forget what's on her list of tea-approved countries, but it's a small one. And she won't drink anything other than "whole leaf" tea - loose isn't good enough.

      Anyhow, it totally cracks me up because with all other sorts of food (produce, meat, etc) she thinks that worrying about pesticides is "silly." I can't for the life of me figure out what the distinction is, so I've officially stopped trying. :-)

      Delete
  8. I too, enjoy just how much tea can be made from a single tea bag. I tend to use them until I think I can get not one more drop of tea out of them, but I think I should try your overnight method, Lili.
    Mary

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    1. Hi Mary,
      I suspect that tea manufacturers are expecting consumers to make just one cup per bag. Maybe that's why I love that you can simply pour more water over the tea, and make a new cup. It goes against what the manufacturers believe we'll do!

      I hope you're enjoying a nice hot cup of tea, right now!

      Delete
  9. I love tea, too. I prefer green with jasmine. I've been drinking it for years. The first cup of the morning has 1 tsp. of honey. Every cup after is plain. I get about three cups per bag, although i prefer loose tea. When my bags are nearly gone i'll go looking for loose. My son got me two (hundred count) boxes of bags from a Chinese store near him. I don't have any ethnic places near me, but that may be something for you to look for. Also, i nannied for a woman from China. When she went home for visits, she would bring me tea. One that i loved was a wheat tea; very subtle. I drank that up in no time!
    I can tell the difference between the first cup of tea and any that come later; the first cup seems thinner, less muddy?? I can't tell the difference between the stove and microwave. Although, my husband wants us to use the microwave less. (A sister of mine has never had one.)
    Thanks for the tea tip; i'll be trying it tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete

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